Fourth of July celebration in Alabama featuring Trump scrapped

The USS Alabama Battleship Commission recently considered an event for this Saturday night that would've featured former president Donald Trump.

(WPMI)-  A rally planned for this weekend at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama has been scrapped.

The USS Alabama Battleship Commission recently considered an event for this Saturday night that would’ve featured former president Donald Trump.

The battleship is a state park, and leaders say there were concerns this wasn’t just a Fourth of July celebration, but rather a partisan political rally.

Pete Riehm, a local tea party activist familiar with the discussions happening behind the scenes, says the event began to unravel when the commission raised concerns about how political the rally would become. 

“Oh, there was gonna be a huge fireworks show akin to what you saw at Mount Rushmore last year… It would’ve been crazy,” said Riehm.

Bill Tunnell, who chairs the commission, says they even sought an opinion from the attorney general’s office in late May.

“After the request was made, then there was contact with the Republican Party. They contacted us, and then it became apparent that it was going to be a partisan political event rather than just a patriotic event planned for that evening,” Tunnell said.

The Mobile NBC affiliate obtained a response from the Attorney General… Which stated there wasn’t enough time for a formal opinion to be given, but did note the park may be used for political events provided access is “available for all political parties and candidates on an equal basis.”

John Wahl, the chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, said Trump had committed for Saturday night, that he was excited to speak to the port city, and he’s disappointed the event is not moving forward.